Our Story
by Shidoin
Summary: A tale of your favorite anime couple and mine. Will these two lovers pull through for eachother in the end? Or will the chaos that is their lives prove to be too much? Only my second fic...hoping it will end up better than my first! Rated M just in case.


It was a normal, quiet evening at the Tendo residence. Soun and Genma had gone out for a drink after dinner leaving the children home alone. Kasumi was in the kitchen just finishing up the evening dishes while Ranma and Akane silently watched something that was on the tv. Who knew exactly where Nabiki was or exactly what she was doing. Possibly in her room going through the pictures she'd taken of Ranma and Akane that day. It was hard to believe that two people could bring her in so much profit...from the same buyer no less!

Ranma sighed silently to himself having noticed the fact that he and Akane were sitting just close enough to eachother just then so that they weren't quite touching. Of course though he'd never admit this to anyone he really longed to see the day that they could sit like this...only with his arm around her and her leaning into his chest. Both of the content. Both of them happy.

"What's wrong, Baka?!" Akane was looking at Ranma with a confused look on her face.

Ranma, who hadn't realized that he'd begun staring spun his head quickly to face the television set.

"Er...nothing...nothing...I erm...thought I saw something in your hair..."he lied.

"WHAT?!", Akane's eyes had gone wide with panic as she races her fingers frantically through her hair.

Ranma took notice of how nicely her hair had grown out since the incident so long ago with Ryoga when Akane was forced to say goodbye to years of growth.

"Oh um...I think it was just a small piece of paper...probably landed there sometime during school and I just didn't notice...erm...sorry about that." He blushed.

And once again things were fairly quiet in the house. There was something on the news about yet another panty raid in some town that wasn't too known to the family. The story however was all too familiar and it at least gave them piece of mind knowing that their father's master in the art was in fact at that time nowhere near them. The fact that the underwear of the daughters and their friends was, at least for the moment, safe was oddly reassuring.

**Up in Nabiki's Room**

Nabiki was, infact, in her room looking over pictures that she'd gotten that day of her younger sister and her would be fiance...at the very least...he'd be her fiance if the two would stop being to stubborn about it and admit their true feelings for eachother. Nabiki knew how much both Ranma and Akane had apposed the arranged engagement from the day their fathers first hit them with the information. She also knew by now, though, that the two did indeed have feelings for eachother that reached far beyond some ordinary friendship and knew that if given the opportunity (and without their fathers' interferance) they'd come to realize how much they really cared for, and probably even loved, eachother.

Oddly enough Nabiki wasn't looking at pictures that you'd normally think her to be (of Ranma in his female form in odd situations, or of Akane in her gi while she did her morning excersizes. Instead she was looking at pictures she'd gotten throughout the day of the two together at times that they unknowingly had seemed to look like an actual 'couple' without realizing it. Nothin' too major. A shared smile at lunch and whatnot. It was really getting her thinking though. Akane looked so happy in these pictures...even if the smile had really only lasted a second or two, and she knew that as much as her sister denied it, that it was indeed Ranma who could make her happy enough to smile the way she did.

She smiled inwardly as she thought of Akane's smile. It had been a while of course but she knew that Akane's smile very much resembled their dear departed mother's. And that was something that Nabiki's heart longed to see. It really made her happy to know that her tom-boy little sister did in fact have a piece of her mother with her...

**Back downstairs...**

"Get back here and take it like a man, you BAKA!!" The mallet was out and Akane was all a fury.

"Oh my..." Kasumi was saying as Nabiki had finally made her appearance at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh boy...what could it possibly be now?" Nabiki almost didn't want to know...after all with Ranma and Akane...it was always something or other.

"I'm not entirely sure..."Kasumi stammered as Ranma flew past, crashing into the wall just by the staircase. "All I know is some cooking show had just started on the tv...I guess Ranma must've made some comment...and um...Akane didn't seem to take it very well."

Nabiki sighed...'_I guess today isn't quite the day...soon though...I hope.'_

Akane, feeling for the moment content with Ranma's punishment at his thoughtless comment on her cooking, decided now was the time to take leave for the evening to her room and stormed past Ranma (still indented in the wall) with a small huff.

**Akane's Room**

Akane had been sitting at her desk for a few minutes by the time she even really thought about the fact that there was nothing she needed to do there. However rather than move she simply began to twiddle the pencil she normally used for homework between her thumb and forefinger, allowing her mind to wander. She knew that for the past while her and Ranma seemed to get a long a lot better than they had in the past. In turn, however, when they didn't get along it also seemed to be worse than before. To the point of (like today) her offering him really minimal punishment before contenting to go off alone and blow off her steam.

'_If only the Baka didn't make such un-needed remarks_' she said silently to herself..then '_and if only I didn't always take those comments to heart...I mean...I know he's a huge clutz when it comes to finding the right things to say...and I'm sure I don't make that easy on him...'_

Still feeling a need to burn off some steam (with Ranma and well as, now, with herself) changed out of the clothes she'd worn that day into her gi and began lifting the weights that she had stowed away under her bed. Nothin like a good workout to just let your cares go after all!

**On the Roof (around the same time)**

Ranma was lying there looking up at the stars. He could hear the yells of Akane. He knew them well. It was her "detemination" yell and likely at that moment she was working herself half to death on a project just to keep her mind off of something else he had done to uspet her. _To keep her mind off him..._It wasn't like he tried to make her angry and at times he thought he was actually getting better at controlling himself around her. He too had obviously noticed the fact that their fights were a lot further and few between, and he wished he knew exactly what it was he was or wasn't doing differently on those occasions. After all...all he really wanted anymore was to see her happy. To see her smile. _Ah...that sweet, sweet smile._ He'd face that damn mallet of hers a thousand times a day if he knew it would put a smile on her face. Although, he'd never tell her that...I mean...I imagine getting hit with a mallet just once would cause a great deal of pain to even the strongest man.

_'Maybe there's something I can do to make her see that I don't ever want to hurt her..', _the thought_. 'Something I can do to show her I really do care without seeming pushy or just making her mad at me again...'_

However try as he may nothing was seeming to come to him. Finally after quite some time of pondering he decided that his only option was to go to the ice queen herself and ask for advice. He made sure to hit up his room first for any loose cash that might be there (and that his father hadn't gotten his hands on yet) as this could get expensive. First of all, for the help itself...secondly...for Nabiki keeping 'hush hush' about the whole thing. However Ranma sometimes got the feeling that Nabiki really did care (in her own way) about what happened between himself and Akane, and really Kasumi almost seemed to mother like (in her own way) for him to feel comfortable going to her for this...

**Nabiki's Room**

Nabiki slid her newest (and in a way proudest) photos into an envelope just as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." she said and Ranma's head popped around the corner of her door.

"Um...hey there Nabiki...I was wondering if I might um...get your advice on something?"Ranma chuckled nervously.

"Ranma...", she was shaking her head, "You know that advice means that I'll need information, and my having information means "

"I have money!" Ranma interrupted. "Money isn't an issue!...erm..Please? Nabiki?"

Nabiki sighed at the site of the poor pitiful person that was Ranma, "Very well Ranma...please, step into my office!"

Ranma stepped into the room and took his usual 'ready to listen and learn...and likely argue' cross legged position in the middle of her floor as she sat on the edge of her bed.

The two sat there silently for some time while Ranma seemed to be gathering his thoughts together. Nabiki just sat patiently and waited as she had a feeling she knew what the topic of their conversation would be.

"Well...see the thing is...it's about a girl..." he began...and then went on the defensive at the look she gave him, "No it's not what you think! It's not **her**, erm...in fact I'm not even asking for myself! I'm asking for a friend! Yeah, that's it a friend from school!"

Nabiki's arms stay in their usual crossed position. "Alright Ranma...what exactly does this friend of your need help with, and by the way I charge extra for those who dont see me face to face..."

Ranma twiddled with his pigtail before going on. "Well, see my friend has a problem with this girl he's known for a while now...they fight all the time...though...not as much as they used to, but things still can't seem to be good between them. At least not for very long that is. It seems like no matter how hard he tries to show her that he doesn't hate her that she seems to get the wrong idea. So...I was wondering if you could give me any ideas on how I could make her see...um...HIM ...ideas for HIM to make her see...how much he really cares for her?"

Nabiki and Ranma just sat and stared at eachother for a few minutes. Ranma wondering what could be going through her mind with the look she had on her face. Nabiki wondering to herself if Ranma really _was_ this pansy man sitting before her. Indeed he was. Sad really...very sad.

"Okay, Ranma...I've heard your um..._friend's_ situation and I've decided to give it some thought. That's all I can promise at the moment...after all it's not like it's easy to just change the way someone feels." She waved him away after he paid her and he headed towards the door only to have her stop him, "One thing, Ranma..."

"Hmm?"

"One thing you might tell your _friend_...he could always try being a little more open with her about what he's feeling...you know chances are she'll take it a lot better than he's thinking he will" and with that she got up and went over to her mirror.

"Um...thanks Nabiki..." he said, "I'll be sure to relay the message...and so you know...uh...he really appreciates your help..."

"Wait until you get my bill..." Nabiki smirked as Ranma left her room.


End file.
